Mock Draft V2.0: NFL Guy

April 18, 2012

Justin "Arby" Arbogast

With the 2012 NFL Draft fast approaching, I’ve been scrambling through tons of prospects. Some have shot up my board, and some have fallen quite a bit. This is version 2.0, and I’m sure there’s more to come as we move along. If the pick is different than what I had it originally, I added the previous pick to the end of the new pick. So without further ado…

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford – Moving on from the Manning era, this is a no brainer.

2. Washington Redskins (From Rams): Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor – Again, a no brainer. RGIII is a perfect fit in Washington, and thats why they moved up.

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, T, USC – Drafted their future QB last year in Christian Ponder, now they’ll get the best lineman in the draft to keep the kid standing.

4. Cleveland Browns: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State – An elite WR that will make an immediate impact, and the first legit weapon that any Cleveland QB has had in a long time.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama – The Bucs need explosion on offense, while they still have Blount, he’s not the explosive piece that the Bucs need. Richardson brings everything that could possibly be on the Bucs radar. (Previous pick: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU)

6. St Louis Rams (From Redskins): Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU – The Rams need offensive weapons bad, but the depth at WR in the draft is decent enough for them to grab the best CB in the draft here. (Previous pick: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame)

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina – Rewarding Mel Tucker with another defensive piece for staying in Jacksonville and maintaining consistency. Ingram is a hard-nosed pass rusher that will help the Jaguars out tremendously (Previous pick: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina)

8. Miami Dolphins: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame – The Fins sent Brandon Marshall packing in a trade to Chicago. They haven’t had the best of luck in their QB search thusfar, but Matt Moore can get the job done for them. Grabbing Floyd here gives them a replacement for Marshall. (Previous pick: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M

9. Carolina Panthers: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina – Carolina had an explosive offense last year, and Ron Rivera needs to focus on defense. Coples is a plug and play guy that gives them versatility on defense, as well as addressing a need for the team. (Previous pick: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina)

10. Buffalo Bills: Reilly Reiff, T, Iowa – Shoring up the offensive line for years to come, Reiff fits perfect here, and will protect Fitzy for a while.

11. Kansas City Chiefs: David DeCastro, G, Stanford – An upgrade to the position, and a piece that will welcome in the top rushing attack of two years ago.

12. Seattle Seahawks: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College – Seattle let David Hawthorne walk away in free agency, and they have addressed other needs thusfar. Taking Kuechly here gives them the best LB in the draft, and adds to the young underrated defense. (previous pick: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis)

13. Arizona Cardinals: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina – A CB that is shooting up my draft board like no other, will be a nice fit opposite of last years standout CB, Patrick Peterson.

14. Dallas Cowboys: Mark Barron, SS, Alabama – Adding talent to a defense that needs it. The secondary was weak last season, and the ‘Boys are amping it up to give Rob Ryan some toys to play with – although he needs to dumb it down a bit.

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis – The Eagles needed a LB here, but with Kuechly off the board, adding some pass rush won’t hurt them one bit. They’ll be chasing down Eli Manning, Tony Romo and RGIII, so getting to the QB is a must. (Previous pick: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College)

16. New York Jets: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois – The Jets have a few pieces on offense in place to not have to reach for a guy here. Adding Mercilus gives them a dynamic pass rusher that can play on the line or standing up. (Previous pick: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama)

17. Cincinatti Bengals (From Raiders): Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama – Adding to a young defense, and upgrading while they’re at it. They need help at CB, and he’d be a great fit for the Bengals.

18. San Diego Chargers: Cordy Glenn, T, Georgia – The Chargers signed Jared Gaither to a four-year contract in free agency to shore up the tackle position, but Phillip Rivers still needs help. Glenn is a guy that can play any position on the line, and the Chargers need that.

19. Chicago Bears: Jonathan Martin, T, Stanford – In order for the Bears to succeed, Cutler has to stay upright. The Bears have taken care of a few needs in Free Agency, but they have yet to add a solid piece on the Offensive line. Taking Martin here helps them out immediately.

20. Tennessee Titans: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU – The Titans lost Jason Jones to free agency, taking Brockers here gives them the pass rush that left, along with a younger guy that can get the job done. (Previous pick: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois)

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama – The Bengals made the playoffs last year with a young team and a top 15 defense. It won’t hurt to continue to address the defense here seeing as they play in a division where the other three opponents all finished in the top ten in defense.

22. Cleveland Browns (From Falcons): Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M – Many have said that Tannehill could go in the top 15 of this years draft, and I originally had him in the top ten. But with the Fins passing up on him at 8, he could slide right into the lap of the Browns. Cleveland isn’t 100% satisfied with Colt McCoy, and Tannehill can at least put a little pressure on him to get him going. (Previous pick: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU)

23. Detroit Lions: Mike Adams, T, Ohio State – Another good Offensive Lineman taken in the first round. The Lions were explosive and exciting last year with a healthy Matthew Stafford, so keeping him that way will help.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Dont’a Hightower, ILB, Alabama – The Steelers released a few older vets this offseason, and they need to do something on defense to shift the youth movement. Hightower makes the most sense here.

25. Denver Broncos: Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State – A team that won a lot of games with their defense last year, Denver adds Worthy here for an upgrade at the position and another weapon on defense.

26. Houston Texans: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor – Texans fans saw last year that they needed another receiver when Andre Johnson missed some time. Wright is a 2 that has potential to be a 1, and he’ll fit the Texans offense perfect.

27. New England Patriots (From Saints): Nick Perry, DE, USC – I don’t think I need to clarify here how bad the Patriots defense was last year. The bad defense went to even worse when they lost Mark Anderson to Buffalo, and decided not to re-sign Andre Carter. Perry addresses the desperate need for pass rush here for the Patriots.

28. Green Bay Packers: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St – The Packers defense struggled a bit last year, but the numbers were inflated due to teams playing from behind. I’ve said it 100 times and I’ll say it 100 more: you can never have enough pass rush.

29. Baltimore Ravens: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin – The Ravens would have been in some trouble if Matt Birk had retired this season as planned. They’re lucky he caught second wind and decided to play another year. Taking the best Center in the draft here makes the most sense, and he’ll be ready if his number is called right away.

30. San Francisco 49ers: Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech – The 49ers have slightly addressed the WR position thusfar, but a guy that has the same potential as Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas is hard to pass up here for a team that can still use the weapons.

31. New England Patriots: Janoris Jenkins, CB, Alabama – He’s had some issues in the past off the field, but the Patriots can whip him into shape. He’s a talented CB that fits the scheme, and Belichick can’t pass up on the upgrade here.

32. New York Giants: Kobe Fleener, TE, Stanford – Both of their Tight Ends were hurt in the Super Bowl, so it’s a need here for the Giants, as well as an upgrade to what they had. Fleener is no Rob Gronkowski, but he’s the best in this draft, and he’ll fit into a role where he’ll be used immediately.

Justin "Arby" Arbogast - manager

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